felthousen



J. D. FELTHOU SENI 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

Splice Joint for Railway Rails. No. 230,626.

Patented Aug. 3,1880.

INVENTOR:

2 .Sheets-Sheet2.

J. D. FEL'THOUSEN.

Splice Joint for Railway Rails. No. 230,626. Patented Aug. 3,1880.

flirt-82: INVENT'OH;

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JACOB D. FEL'IHOUSEN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF OF HIS RIGHT TO JOHN WHEN, OF SAME PLACE.

SPLICE-JOINT FOR RAILWAY-RAILS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 230,626, dated August 3, 1880. Application filed February 11, 1880.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J AGOB D. FELTHOUSEN, of the city of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Splice-Joints for Railway-Rails, which improvements are fully set forth in the following specification and accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side view of the device from the outside of the track, A being a wedgeshaped and slotted plate or bar, and S slots in the same. B is an oblong square head of bolt B C; D, the edge of the washer bent over the plate A; E, part of the bevel-sided and beveledged fish-bar F, and T the upper part of the rail, the dotted lines showing washer D and slots S.

Fig. 2 is a top view of the same, A showing the top of the wedge-shaped plate, B the side of the head of the oblong square-headed bolt B C, D the washer bent over the top edge of the wedge-shaped plate A, the dotted lines showing the outside line of said plate A and the line of the bolts, C showing the ends of bolt B C and T the top surface of the rail.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the rail and device in place, A being the wedge-shaped and slotted plate, B a view of the oblong square head of the bolt B C, C the oval head of said bolt, D the washer bent over the top edge of the plate A, E. an inside fish bar or plate, F an outside fish plate or bar with beveled edge and beveled side, and T the rail, the dotted lines showing the line of the double-headed bolt B 0 through the parts.

Fig. 4 is a view of the same from the inside of the track, T being the rail, E an inside fish bar or plate, K oval holes through the same, and 0 oval heads of the bolt B C crosswise to the holes K.

Fig. 5 is a double-headed bolt, one head being an oblong square, having a square shoulder behind the oblong square head, as shown at B, the opposite head, C, being oval-shaped and reversed in its length to the length of its opposite square head, thus making a self-locking bolt.

Fig. 6 is an edge View of the said bolt B, showing the edge of the oblong square head and the square shoulder behind said head, and 0 showing the opposite and oval head of said self-locking bolt.

Fig. 7 is an inside fish bar or plate with beveled edges to fit between the base and cap of the rail, and of sufficient width to fill the space between the base and cap of the rail without being'presse-d against the upright part of the rail, leaving space between the parts, as shown in Fig. 3, letter E, letter K showing oval holes to admit the passage of the oval heads 0 of the bolt.

Fig. 8 is an outside fish bar or plate with oval holes Kthrough the same, to correspond with the oval holes in fish-barE, and also with holes in the rail T. This bar F is made with beveled edges of sufficient width to till the space between the base and cap of the rail without coming in contact with the upright part of the rail '1, leaving space between the parts, as shown in Fig. 3, letter F. It must also have a beveled side, the thickest part being downward, so as to be a reversed wedge to the wedge-shaped plate A when the sides are put together, the outsides of both plates, when driven together, forming parallel lines perpendicularly, and also parallel lines with the line of plate or bar E on the inside of the rail '1, as shown in Fig. 3. r

Fig. 9 is a wedge-shaped and slotted plate,

A showing the plate and S the slots therein,

which must be of sufficient width to fit and go over the square shoulder of the bolt behind the oblong head B of said bolt B C.

Fig. 10 is a flat washer, with an aperture of sufficient size to go over the oblong square head B of the bolt, the line 3 y showing the.

line of the bolt B C and the dotted lines the part that is bent over plate A.

Fig. 11, letter D, is a sectional view of the said washer, showing, in light, its aperture, and by dottedlines where it is to be bent over the wedge-shaped plate A, when in place, to hold said plate A in place and prevent it from being removed.

The device will consist 4 of the following pieces: One inside fish bar or plate, about twenty-four inches in length, one-half an inch in thickness, and about two and one-half inches wide, having four oval holes throughv its side. One outside bevel-sided fish-bar of same length, being thickest at the bottom, and

being three-fourths of an inch in thickness at the bottom and half an inch at the top part, and having corresponding holes to the holes IOC.

in the inside bar, E. Two wedge-shaped and slotted plates A. These will be about eight inches in length, two inches and a half in width, and each have two slots cut therein to go over the square shoulder of the bolt B G, the bevels on their sides corresponding to the bevel of the bar F. Four double and reversed headed bolts, with square shoulders to fit the slots in plates A, and of length between the heads for the plates A, washer D, bar F, rail T, and bar E to fit very tightly between without the,plate A being driven clear down. Four washers, D, to go between the bar F and the wedge-shaped plate A, and to be bent over the said plate A to keep it in place.

Like letters in the drawings and in this speci fication represent and describe like parts.

The object of my invention is to furnish a device to connect and secure the ends orjoints of railway-rails that will prevent the same from moving or bending down and becoming bruised by the action and weight of the trains and engines when passing over the track, and that will not become loosened b said iction ot' the cars, but, on the contrary, by its automatic action, will tighten its own parts and make the joint in the rails more firm and secure, and that when in place will prevent evil disposed persons from removing the same to the injury of the track and to the danger of those who may be carried thereon.

In arranging the difierent parts of my device (shown in the drawings and above described) and putting the same together, the fish-bar E is to be placed and fitted between the base and cap of the rail T, on the inside of the track, leaving space between the bar and the upright part of the rail, so as to allow the edge of the bar to be drawn tightly to-the under side of the cap and the upper part of the base of the rail, as shown in Fig. 3. Place the outside bevel-sided bar, F, on the outside of the track, the holes K corresponding with the holes K of the inside bar, E, and with holes in the rail T of sufficient size to admit the oval head G of the bolt B C, said bar F-fitting, like bar E, between the cap and base of the rail, its upper edge being flush with the outer edge of the cap of the rail. Insert the oval heads 0 of the bolts 13 U fiatwise through the oval holes K of the bars F and E and the rail T from the outside of the track, thus bringing the oval head 0 of the bolt B G on the inside of the track. Then turn said bolt B O one-fourth round, thus bringing the oval head 0 crosswise to the holes K of the bar E, as shown in Fig. 7, and the oblong square head B flatwise, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, thus locking the parts together. Put the washer D over the oblong square head B of the bolt and next to the beveled side of the bar F and over the square shoulder of the bolt. Then put the slots S of the wedge-shaped plate A over the square shoulder of the bolt and behind the oblong square head B of said bolt B O, and drive the wedge-shaped slotted plate A down with a hammer beside the washer D and the beveled-sided bar F, the plate A and the bar F forming a double wedge, increasing in thickness when driven side by side between the two heads of the bolt, and thus pressing the beveled edges of the bars F and E between the base and cap of the rail and firmly holding the joints in place and supporting them, the slots S of the plate A fitting over the square shoulder of the bolt B O, preventing the bolt from turning or from being taken out, the said device being so constructed and arranged that the outsides of the said bar F and plate A form parallel perpendicular lines, and the plates A, by their own weight and volition, become automatic in their action and use by dropping down and keeping the parts tightly together. Then, with a hammer or proper tool, bend the upper projecting edge of the washer D over the upper edge of the wedge-shaped plate A, from working upward from any cause whatever, or from being removed by evil-designed persons. The said washer D. being between the plates A and F and around the square shoulder of the bolt, cannot be taken out, and when bent tightly over the plate A will not allow the same to be removed unless the washer D is cut out with a cold-chisel.

It will be observed in this device that there are no nuts or screws to work loose and become lost, as is not uncommon in joints secured by nuts and screws by the vibration and shaking ot' the parts caused by the action of the trains, and that the device cannot be removed by trainwreckers or others withoutsuitable tools and much noise, which would lead to exposure.

Having thus described my device and its operative parts, I will state what I claim as my invention.

I do not merely claim fish-bars to support the joints of rails, as such bars have been used to prevent the plate A IIO for more than twenty-five years; neither do I claim bolts for holding the bars together; nor do I claim an oval'headcd bolt alone, as an oval-headed bolt appears in my application for rail-fastenings filed August ll, 1874; but

What I do claim is 1. The washer D, in connection with the wedge-shaped and slotted plate A, arranged substantially as described, and for the purposes set forth.

2. A reversed headed bolt, in combination with the bent washer D and the double-slotted plate A, arranged substantially as herein described, and for the purposes set forth.

3. In a railway-rail joint, the combination of bevel-sided fislrbar, a double-slotted and wedge-shaped plate, a reversed headed bolt, and a bent washer, when constructed and arranged substantially as herein described, and for the purposes specified.

JACOB D. FELTHOUSEN.

Witnesses:

JOHN WREN, MIcHAELHAssE'rT. 

